Daily Inspirations

  Good morning. Remind them of these things (in the “song“ that we looked at yesterday), and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words (sometimes there is a spiritual disagreement simply about certain words and what they mean. An example would be the word baptism), which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. Avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Paul then mentions two men (One of whom he already mentioned negatively in first Timothy) – who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some. Even today, the words of some “preachers” upset the faith of believers. Father help us to always present ourselves approved to You as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accu...

  Good morning. … But the word of God is not imprisoned. For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen (in the end, that includes us), so that they also may obtain salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory. If Paul had given up, we would not have a lot of the New Testament, which we treasure today. It is a trustworthy statement (what follows could easily have been the words of a song or some sort of catechism that they recited): If we died with Him, we will also live with Him (My Bible says that the Greek grammatical construction here assumes that we died with Christ in the past, when He died for us on the cross. We are therefore assured that we will also live with Him eternally.); if we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He also will deny us (also mentioned in the gospels); if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself. Father thank You that we have all of this in You. Help us to remain true to ...

Good morning. Remember he is talking to Timothy, the pastor: suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. Soldiers don’t give up just because living conditions are not optimal. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. Probably the key word there is entangles. It does not mean that a preacher does not have anything to do with everyday life. It means that he should not be so involved with it, that it takes away his focus on preaching the word. Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead (The Messiah was not supposed to die, but remain forever. That God raised Him from the dead gave Jesus special consideration), descendent of David (The Messiah was to be a descendent of David), according to my gospel (all of this contradicted the Jews’ beliefs about the Messiah), for which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned. Paul was not...

  Good morning. Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard (same Greek word as yesterday) through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure (deposit, not the Greek word thesaurus) which has been entrusted to you. God has a high bar when it comes to His standards, and sometimes preachers use lower standards so that they won’t lose members. And now the way the gospel is to be spread throughout the world: The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Paul didn’t whisper one thing into Timothy’s ears and something different to the other people listening to him. Timothy was to then pass that on to other faithful people who would pass it on to still others. That is the whole basis of the idea of discipleship. Sadly that pattern was interrupted centuries ago. If it had continued, things would be totally differen...

  Good morning.… Grace granted us from all eternity, but now (this grace) has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. For this reason I also suffer these things. Paul, if you are trying to persuade us to become a preacher, you are doing a poor selling job. And now another one of those really important verses. Despite all the suffering he has gone through: I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day. Too often today, when people put down what the gospel says, we become ashamed and do not own up to what it says. Paul was not ashamed. He was confident that no matter what happened to him, in the end, he would be victorious through Christ, and would not lose anything. Father help us to not be ashamed of the gospel, but to entrust...

  Good morning. After telling Timothy that God has not given us a spirit of fear, he says, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel (you are so encouraging Paul) according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works (once again, there is nothing that you can do to earn salvation), but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity. Most people cannot conceive of what infinity really means. Take the largest named number in the world, googolplexian, and raise that number to the googolplexian power, and you’ve only just begun your journey to infinity (eternity). Most people are like the little brother of one of my students. His example of something that was infinite was a gumball machine :) Father help us to live up to that holy calling. Father thank You that You chose us from all eternity.

  Good morning. We now begin second Timothy: Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus. I thank God, whom I serve with a clear (pure) conscience the way my forefathers did (Paul said that he was a Pharisee and the son of a Pharisee), as I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day. That’s a pretty bold statement that his conscience was pure. He then mentions Timothy‘s mother and grandmother who were also believers. It is always special when the faith runs in families. For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. We talked about this in first Timothy. For God has not given us a spirit of timidity (fear), but of power and love and discipline (self control). My Bible says that apparently lack of confidence was a serious problem for Timothy. Father thank You that You have not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and self-control. Help us t...